Lending even more strength to the H3's face is a wide black bumper with a pair of bolted-in D rings, each of which can support the vehicle's full weight. A visible reminder that Hummers are at home away from pavement, the H3 has a skid plate, bright metallic underbody armor designed to protect its oil pan and other powertrain components from damage.
The hood has louvers that look like those on the H1 or H2 and a pair of air boxes at the base of the windshield supports. While the louvers are non-functional, one of the air boxes draws oxygen into the 3.5-liter five-cylinder engine.
Because of its military heritage as a Humvee, the wheels on the Hummer H1 have an integrated tire inflation system. The wheels on the H2 and H3 have a similar look, though they do not provide inflation on the go. However, the H3 does come with a standard tire-pressure monitoring system.
The rear view of the H3 is dominated by the full-size spare tire mounted on the back of the rear door. A hydraulic strut eases the opening and closing this tire-carrying door, which is hinged on the driver's side and thus can be loaded from curbside in parallel parking situations.
As at the front of the H3, a metallic skid plate protects the fuel tank and other underbody components at the rear of the vehicle's chassis.
Sport utility vehicles traditionally are built on pickup truck platforms, and the Hummer H3 chassis is based on the platform of the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon mid-size pickups. However, only 10 percent of the pickup trucks' components carry over in the H3, and the engine and transmissions account for most of that commonality. The other thing the H3 has in common with its pickup truck cousins is that it is built on the same assembly line in Shreveport, Louisiana. Next Page